It can be pretty disappointing when your hamster starts biting you out of nowhere. While the bites might not cause severe injury, they’ll almost certainly leave you wondering where the aggressive behavior has come from. So why is your hamster biting you all of a sudden?
Your hamster is biting you all of a sudden probably due to stress. The stress could be caused by a host of factors, from illness to pain (as a result of injury), a perceived threat, and discomfort due to an unfavorable cage environment (temperatures, space, lighting, and toys).
This article discusses the causes of stress in detail and why your hamster is acting out aggressively. Intervening in time is essential to save your hamster from serious health problems and possibly even death.
Is It Normal for Hamsters To Start Biting?
It’s normal for hamsters to bite when stressed, threatened, or in pain. Hamsters usually bite as a way of releasing pent-up frustration due to underlying issues. However, it is abnormal for a hamster to bite if it’s perfectly healthy and comfortable in its cage.
Let’s look at the symptoms and causes of stress in hamsters.
Stressed Hamster
Aggression is a common consequence of stress, a behavior observed in many animals. On most occasions, stress triggers a fight-or-flight response, which explains the aggressive behavior observed in affected living things, including humans.
While hamsters experience similar stressful situations, they lack the emotional intelligence and capacity to respond to their problems. Like almost all animals, they act instinctively and won’t hesitate to bite if picked up or approached such that they feel cornered.
Even a loving hamster can act aggressively if picked up when ill or distressed, regardless of how warm or accommodating it usually is.
Symptoms of Stress In Hamsters
The body responds to stress in various ways, depending on the subject’s makeup and personality. Unlike humans who can communicate, hamsters have limited ways to express their frustrations.
Here’s a list of common symptoms of stress in hamsters:
- Agitation
- Fatigue (feeling on edge all the time is tiring)
- Hair loss
- Hiding
- Cage biting
- Scratching (themselves and objects)
- Decreased appetite
- Decreased thirst
You might recognize many of these symptoms when you’re going through a stressful period. You obviously won’t be biting any cages, but fidgeting, skin scratching, hair pulling, and nail biting are common stress-related behaviors we display.
Causes of Stress in Hamsters
Hamsters are highly susceptible to stress and can easily develop health problems that can even lead to death. That’s why it’s essential to identify the signs of stress early enough and take the necessary steps to make your hamster feel at ease.
The list of possible causes is long, but if you keep in mind when the problems started and what changed around your house at the time, you should be able to figure it out.
Here are some of the common stress triggers for hamsters:
- Loud noises (children, other pets, music, etc.)
- High-frequency sounds (from devices like computers and microwaves)
- Bright lights
- Strong cleaning products and scented sprays
- Fast movements
- Extreme temperatures
- Limited cage space
- Lack of food or water
- Other animals
Most things listed above are easy to avoid and change when you’re aware of the underlying problem. You can easily adjust the lighting and the products you use.
You can also keep children and other pets out of the hamster’s environment, provide enough food and space, and avoid overwhelming noises and smells.
You should try to understand your hamster and be aware of the following things to get a sense of what can be an annoyance to your pet:
- Hamsters have lousy eyesight (explains triggers like bright lights and fast movements)
- Hamsters have excellent hearing and a great sense of smell (explains triggers like cleaning products, scented sprays, loud noises, and high-frequency sounds)
- Hamsters are territorial (explains why they get agitated with other animals around)
- Hamsters are susceptible to temperatures (anything lower than 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18,33° C) and higher than 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23,89° C) can cause stress and health risks)
To learn more about how cold temperatures affect hamsters, you should read this Aspen Commons Animal Hospital article. It also discusses hibernation and what to do when your hamster has gone into hibernation.
Threatened Hamster
A stressed hamster is almost certainly guaranteed to feel threatened by a host of ‘non-issues.’ It isn’t necessarily because your hamster is scared of you; other factors might stress it out and cause it to respond negatively toward you.
Identifying what’s causing stress or what might come off as a threat to your pet is crucial. We’ve discussed these causes before, so you should be able to point them out and make changes to your hamster’s environment.
A good rule of thumb to always keep in mind is to give your hamster the space it needs. As a highly territorial pet, your hamster won’t appreciate other pets (like your cat or dog) gaining unlimited access to its room.
But if the cause of the stress is either pain or illness, you won’t be able to make those changes to help them.
Hamster in Pain or Ill
This is directly related to stress in hamsters because both pain and illness cause physical and, by association, mental stress. You can figure out whether your hamster is ill by observing other symptoms; you often can’t do the same when your pet is in pain.
Stress and pain cause similar symptoms. Depending on the type of pain your hamster experiences, there can be some obvious physical signs that do not point to anxiety, like limping.
The best action to take when you suspect your hamster is ill or injured is to take it to the vet for further examination. Even a simple cold can change a hamster’s mood and attitude completely. These cute little furballs tend to frequently get ill out of nowhere, and the illness often evolves quickly.
Hamster Illnesses
When hamsters get ill, they usually have more symptoms than just biting and general aggression. Let’s discuss some common health issues and possible additional symptoms. However, remember that symptoms aren’t the same for every animal.
- Respiratory infections: Wheezing, rapid breathing, and squeaking noises.
- Common cold: Runny nose and eyes, sneezing, coughing, and changes in breathing.
- Skin conditions: Dry or flaky skin, fur loss, skin redness, and sometimes even wounds (from scratching).
- Wet Tail (proliferative ileitis): Diarrhea, decreased appetite and thirst, low energy, and exhaustion.
- Other infections: Lack of appetite and thirst (weight loss and dehydration), digestive issues (bloating, gassy, diarrhea), and low energy.
As mentioned before, any signs of illness should encourage you to seek medical help from a veterinarian immediately. It doesn’t do any harm to be cautious when it comes to your hamster’s health.
Conclusion
If your hamster is acting out all of a sudden, the best way to approach the situation is to examine the changes you made in your house, more specifically in the hamster’s room and cage. It’s in the details; changing a lamp, setting a higher temperature, purchasing a new device, etc.
You should go to the veterinarian for a check-up if more is going on. There’s a big possibility that your hamster is ill or in pain, which should be dealt with immediately.